Brazil to send troops to town bordering Venezuela after riots

20 August 2018 — 6:26am

Sao Paulo: The Brazilian government will send troops to the border town of Pacaraima after angry residents there attacked Venezuelan migrants as retribution for the robbing and beating of a local restaurant owner.

Pacaraima is a major border crossing with Venezuela, where economic and political turmoil has driven tens of thousands to cross into Brazil in recent months.

After attacking the man on Friday night, groups of angry demonstrators roamed the town hurling rocks at the migrants, setting fire to their belongings and forcing them to flee their makeshift camp.

Temporary shelter for Venezuelan migrants in Boa Vista, capital of the state of Roraima, Brazil. Credit:Agencia Brasil

"The Brazilians came running with sticks and bottles. They burnt all our things, even the children's clothes," said Joana Perez, a 24-year-old mother holding a six-month-old baby. "I'm scared. I don't know where to sleep tonight or if there will be another attack. We lost everything. All I have is my ID card."

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The Brazilian Public Security Ministry said it would deploy soldiers of the elite National Force to Pacaraima on Monday to maintain order, in addition to forces already on the ground. The decision came after Brazilian President Michel Temer called an urgent cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss a plea for help by the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The Venezuelan government asked Brazil to "guarantee the care and safety of Venezuelans and their families" and called the episode "violence fed by xenophobia".

A migrant rests in a temporary shelter erected to house hundreds of Venezuelans in Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil.Credit:Agencia Brasil

The army's Humanitarian Logistics Task Force in Roraima said at least 1200 migrants returned to Venezuela to escape the violence, while fewer immigrants lined up to enter Brazil on Sunday.

"About 1200 Venezuelans went back to their country yesterday. The flow has restarted today but evidently there are fewer people coming," Colonel Hilel Zanatta, commander of the army operation at the border post, said.

The Roraima state government estimates that more than 50,000 Venezuelan refugees have crossed the border, occupying already existing shelters or sleeping in tents, plazas and streets. The influx was nearly equal to 10 per cent of the state's population of 520,000 inhabitants.

On Saturday, Claudio Lamachia, president of the Brazilian Bar Association, said that the violence in Pacaraima "exposed the humanitarian drama afflicting our neighbours ... who are trying to improve their lives and survive."

"The state of Roraima does not have the conditions to shelter all the immigrants," he said.

The crisis has prompted state authorities in recent months to try to limit services to Venezuelans and temporarily shut the border, but the federal government and a judge ordered the border to stay open.